Essential Learning(s)
Student journalists will be able to create and publish accurate and thoughtful information which informs, entertains and/or persuades the audience.
Goals for the year
Student journalists will learn to:
1. Gather accurate information and facts through interviews, research and/or observation.
2. Write accurate and informative copy in the appropriate journalistic style: news, feature or opinion.
3. Use graphic design principles and techniques to engage audience.
4. Publish work using appropriate media -- via print, video or internet.
5. Meet deadlines consistently.
6. Work and collaborate well with others.
Successes
The Arapahoe Herald newspaper, the Calumet yearbook, the Calumet Too video yearbook -- and the student journalists who produce them -- have all won numerous awards on the state and national level.
Common Assessment(s) -- included here may be actual common assessments, examples of assessments or descriptions of assessments
Newspaper & Yearbook:
-
Each student will demonstrate the skills learned by creating a personal newspaper or yearbook spread with at least 2 pages.
-
Students will demonstrate their mastery of basic and advanced graphic design and layout skills and techniques.
-
Students will also demonstrate their mastery of journalistic writing styles and forms.
-
Each student will write and edit their own copy for the final product.
-
Newspaper students should include a straight news article in inverted pyramid style, as well as a feature article and a personal opinion column.
-
Yearbook students should write their copy and captions in the appropriate yearbook style. Plan your spread as a feature.
-
Each student must take at least two quality photos and use them in their project with appropriate cutlines/captions. One of the photos should be manipulated in Photoshop, while the other photo should be a photojournalistic candid shot. Inclusion of additional photos is certainly encouraged.
-
The final product should also include at least one sidebar using creative graphic design techniques.
Video Production:
-
Each student will demonstrate the skills learned by creating a 1 to 3 minute movie.
-
Each student must both shoot the footage and edit that footage to make the final product.
-
The movie must include interviews with the subject(s).
-
The movie must include a variety of camera angles and cinematographic techniques.
-
The final movie must include an audio soundtrack, smooth visual and audio transitions, title slides and credits.
-
The movie may also include special effects as appropriate.